He then softly descended, and, taking Corette by the hand (she had been waiting for him on the portico), he went down to the bottom of the pasture field.

When he was quite sure that he and Corette were entirely outside of the fairies’ grounds, he stood up, pointed to the ball with a long, thin stick which he had cut, and began to count:  “One, two, three——­”

And as he counted the cottage began to shrink.  Smaller and smaller it became, until it got to be very little indeed.

“Is that enough?” said the Condensed Pirate, hurriedly between two counts.

“No,” replied Corette.  “There is the little man, just come out of the barn.  He ought to be as small as the sisters used to be.  I’ll tell you when to stop.”

So the counting went on until Corette said, “Stop!” and the cottage was really not much higher than a thimble.  The little man stood by the barn, and seemed to Corette to be just about the former size of the fairy sisters; but, in fact, he was not quite a quarter of an inch high.  Everything on the place was small in proportion, so that when Corette said “Stop!” the Condensed Pirate easily leaned over and knocked the pink ball from the chimney with his long stick.  It fell outside of the grounds, and he picked it up and put it in his pocket.

Then he and Corette stood and admired everything!  It was charming!  It was just what they had imagined before they came there.  While they were looking with delight at the little fields, and trees, and chickens,—­so small that really big people could not have seen them,—­and at the cute little house, with its vines and portico, the two sisters came out on the little lawn.

When they saw Corette and her companion they were astounded.

“Why, when did you grow big again?” they cried.  “Oh! how sorry we are!  Now you cannot come into our house and live with us any longer.”

Corette and the Condensed Pirate looked at each other, as much as to say, “They don’t know they have been made so little.”

Then Corette said:  “We are sorry too.  I suppose we shall have to go away now.  But we have had a delightful visit.”

“It has been a charming one for us,” said one of the sisters, “and if we only had known, we would have had a little party before you went away; but now it is too late.”

The Condensed Pirate said nothing.  He felt rather guilty about the matter.  He might have waited a little, and yet he could not have told them about it.  They might have objected to be condensed.

“May we stay just a little while and look at things?” asked Corette.

“Yes,” replied one of the fairies; “but you must be very careful not to step inside the grounds, or to stumble over on our place.  You might do untold damage.”

So the two little big people stood and admired the fairy cottage and all about it, for this was indeed the sight they came to see; and then they took leave of their kind entertainers, who would have been glad to have them stay longer, but were really trembling with apprehension lest some false step or careless movement might ruin their little home.